Once again, Apple Watch has been credited with saving a user’s life. Using sensors that measure heart rate, ECG, and other vital signs, Apple’s popular wearable device has been accused of detecting health issues in users in the past. This time, an Apple Watch detected low blood oxygen saturation in a 16-year-old skier, allowing him to receive prompt treatment. While the watch is worn on the wearer’s wrist, the blood oxygen sensor can determine the level of oxygen in their blood. However, only a few nations offer watchOS access to Apple’s Blood Oxygen app.
Marcella Lee, an anchor for the CBS 8 news channel in San Diego, talked about her terrifying skiing trip in Colorado, where her Apple Watch helped her son’s low blood oxygen level. Lee said that her 16-year-old son told her he was sick on Friday morning while they were on a skiing trip, and by night, she noticed that his lips and fingertips were a little blue. So, she put her Apple Watch on his wrist to check how much oxygen was in his blood. After a few seconds, the watch showed that 66% of his blood was oxygenated.
Lee took her son to the emergency room
in the neighborhood because she learned from additional research that if the blood oxygen saturation is 88% or lower, immediate medical attention is required. Surprisingly, the equipment there confirmed a blood oxygen level of 67%, so the oxygen saturation level that her Apple Watch detected was almost correct. Her son could have entered a coma, according to the doctors there, with only 66% sustained oxygen. However, he was treated promptly and is currently doing well.
Lee went on to say that her son was given the uncommon diagnosis of High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE), which affects skiers. According to the report, nearly one in 10,000 skiers in Colorado are affected by HAPE.
An Apple Watch reportedly aided in the timely diagnosis of a 12-year-old girl in the United States with cancer by sensing her heart rate earlier in October 2022. According to reports, the user’s mother’s Apple Watch kept alerting her daughter to her daughter’s abnormally high heart rate. A neuroendocrine tumor was discovered on her appendix when she was taken to the hospital for an appendectomy.
